L3Harris Technologies has been granted a patent for an arming apparatus that can be installed in military aircraft. The apparatus consists of sequentially breakable links that ensure the reliable ejection or jettisoning of a store, depending on whether it is armed or unarmed. The apparatus can be connected between a pair of arming units and a fuzing unit of the store. It also includes a FZU actuation lanyard and a third tension member with a breakable link. GlobalData’s report on L3Harris Technologies gives a 360-degree view of the company including its patenting strategy. Buy the report here.
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According to GlobalData’s company profile on L3Harris Technologies, AR/VR head-up displays was a key innovation area identified from patents. L3Harris Technologies's grant share as of September 2023 was 72%. Grant share is based on the ratio of number of grants to total number of patents.
Arming apparatus for ejecting a store from a military aircraft
A recently granted patent (Publication Number: US11774215B2) describes an arming apparatus for a store that can be connected between an ejector release unit (ERU) and a fuzing unit (FZU) of the store. The arming apparatus includes a first tension member and a second tension member, both of which have breakable links. These breakable links are arranged in a way that requires certain links to be broken before others can be broken when the store is ejected from the ERU in an armed state.
The arming apparatus also includes a FZU actuation lanyard, which is coupled to the first and second tension members, and a third tension member with a breakable link that is coupled to the FZU actuation lanyard and the FZU. Some of the breakable links remain unbroken when the store is ejected from the ERU in an unarmed state.
The first and second tension members each have a first breakable link, and the first tension member also includes a first flexible drop link, while the second tension member includes a second flexible drop link. These drop links have a greater length when extended straight compared to the spanned portion of the tension members when their first breakable links are intact and extended straight.
The second breakable links in the tension members are calibrated to break under a higher tensile force than the first breakable links. The FZU actuation lanyard can be coupled to the first tension member or the first flexible drop link, and the second end of the lanyard can be coupled to the second tension member or the second flexible drop link.
The arming apparatus allows for releasable coupling of the FZU actuation lanyard to the tension members. The second breakable links are located above the FZU actuation lanyard coupling positions. The FZU actuation lanyard is configured to slide longitudinally relative to the FZU, and the upper end of the third tension member is slidable longitudinally on the FZU actuation lanyard.
The lower ends of the first and second tension members are designed for securing to or adjacent to suspension lugs of the store, and they each comprise a loop. The drop links are flexible loops that can be slidably interlinked or elongate when the first breakable links are broken. The tension members can be fabricated from natural or synthetic fiber cord or rope, chain, or flexible wire or cable, and they may include permanent joints made with crimped metal sleeves. The breakable links in the arming apparatus are shear links.
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GlobalData, the leading provider of industry intelligence, provided the underlying data, research, and analysis used to produce this article.
GlobalData Patent Analytics tracks bibliographic data, legal events data, point in time patent ownerships, and backward and forward citations from global patenting offices. Textual analysis and official patent classifications are used to group patents into key thematic areas and link them to specific companies across the world’s largest industries.
